Hydrotherapy circulator



April 1 2- w. ROCKE 2,280,979

HYDROTHERAPY CIRGULATQR Filed May 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 24 i 3g f7 E T L 30' J7 fl/m April 28, 1942. w. ROCKE 2,280,979

HYDROTHERAPY CIRCULA'I'OR Filed May 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VPatented Apr. 28, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HYDROTHERAPY CIRCULATOR William Rocke, South Bend, Ind.

Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,646

4 Claims.

This invention relates to hydrotherapy apparatus and particularly to an adjustable circulator pump to facilitate the treatment of pa-.

tients. Although hydrotherapy has been practiced for many years, a comparatively recent development in the art has indicated the need for circulator pump apparatus to provide vibratory massage effects to produce improved results over the older methods. This new hydrotherapy technique requires a wide variation in the application of water currents to produce the desired massage effects. Hydrotherapy is often resorted to when manual massage is too severe and painful and this requires the most gentle application of water currents carrying air bubbles to produce the desired gentle vibratory effects. Other conditions require that a patient be outstretched and immersed in a large tank and be suspended in the water by powerful large volume circulator currents deflected from the bottom of the tank.

The water is often treated with oils and medicines and into the stream of these solutions air is injected in variable amounts to produce the desired effects. The tanks used in hydrotherapy vary in size, depth and shape to accommodate treatment of any part of the body or the entire outstretched body. These wide variations in tanks and treatments require a circulator pump adjustable in almost all particulars of mounting and discharge flow characteristics.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a circulator pump that can be properly and stably mounted on a wide variety of hydrotherapy tanks and having adjustment means to provide a wide variety of hydrotherapy currents.

Other objects and benefits will be disclosed in the following descriptions and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational cross-section View of my circulator with support clamp bracket attached;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a full immersion tank showing three circulators attached in various positions;

Fig. 3 is a broken plan view of my adjustable circulator nozzle employing three nozzle sections as will later be explained;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a wide discharge circulator nozzle section; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of a circulator nozzle with hose attachment fittings as Will later be explained.

Fig. 6 is a broken transverse sectional view on the section lines 6--6 of Fig. 1.

Now referring to Fig. 1, I designate my outside vertical support tube by the numeral IO and the inside telescoping support tube by the numeral II. The motor I2 is mounted on the top of the tube It], as shown, and a centrifugal pump housing I4 is mounted on the bottom of the inner telescoping tube Ii. Mounted within the pump housing is an impeller l5, and exterior of the housing I4 is an adjustable perforated member Hi. This perforated member I6 is supported in a knurled adjustment screw ll mounted on the housing I4, and when the knurled screw is rotated, the perforated adjustment member will be moved vertically to increase or decrease the inlet opening to the centrifugal pump housing l4, the housing I4 being prevented from rotating by a saddle opening I6 around the pump discharge 30.

The motor [2 drives the impeller l5 by means of the flexible coupling IS, the stub shaft l9 and the square drive tube 20 attached to the shaft I9 by the drive pin 2|, the impeller l5 being driven by the square tube 20, through the square drive shaft 22, held in position by the thrust collar 23. It will be appreciated that by this con.- struction, I provide adjustable telescoping drive means between the motor l2 and the impeller IS. The shafts in this driving arrangement are supported by conventional bearings 24, and 26, as shown. By referring to the drawing of the impeller in Fig. 1, and particularly to the broken sectional view, it will be noted that the blades of the impeller are pitched slightly upwardly toward the outer periphery while the inner edges of the blades are gradually widened, a construction which effectively forces the liquid radially outward at the top of the impeller. The pump arrangement is completely described in applicants Patents Re. 20,484, and 2,250,315.

Outlet to the centrifugal pump is provided by a single thin outlet flange 21 provided with tapped flange holes (not shown) for mounting the pump discharge member 30. On top of the discharge member there is a stepped opening on which is mounted an air inlet injector tube 32, the injector feature of this mounting being provided by the lip' 33 under the opening of the tube 32, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, wherein the stream of water directed into an expanded outlet section injects air from the tube 32 over the entire upper surface of the wide thin stream. Telescopically mounted over the tube 32 is another tube 34 supported by a clamp bracket 35 from the tube III. In the top of this air inlet tube 34 is an adjustable butterfly valve 36, whose purpose will be described in more detail later.

Integral with the bracket 35 is an angular ear-31 to support the brace rod 38 for my adjustable nozzles, as will later be explained. It will be noted that the cross section of both the outlet and the air inlet tubes are relatively wide and thin, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

By the foregoing construction I have provided a telescoping adjustable air inlet tube which acts with the telescoping feature of my support tube, as will later be explained.

Around the vertical tube In is a clamp bracket 40 securely clamped to the tube II] by means of a knurled screw 4|. I provide slit openings in the tube ||l (not shown) which permit the outside vertical tube ID to be collapsed and clamped on the inner tube By this arrangement it will be understood that I provide means whereby the entire circulator pump assembly'may be rotated in the clamp bracket or adjusted vertical y to provide a greater distance between the pump and the motor. At the same time the air injector tubes 32 and 34 will be similarly adjusted. The clamp bracket 45 is attached to a U-clamp 45 by means of slidable T-bolts 42 and 43 in a vertical slot 44 of the bracket 45. This arrangement provides means whereby the clamp 40 may be adjusted vertically on the U-clamp 45 as will be readily appreciated by a study of the drawings. The U-bracket 45 is supported on the rim of a tank by rollers 48 trunnioned in the dual legs. It may be clamped securely to the tank by means of the thumb screws 46 and 41 or when these thumb screws are loosened an operator may roll the entire circulator assembly to various positions on the tank by means of the rollers 48. The

handle I! on the motor I2 is provided to facilitate this operation. It will be noted that the center of gravity of the entire circulator is below the rim of the tank and thus the device is stably supported.

Now referring to Fig. 2, I show diagrammatically a large immersion tank 50 wherein the patient may be treated in outstretched position. I show diagrammatically circulator pumps in three positions 52 and '55. At: 5| the circulator pump is straight with the bracket 45 and with the short Y-discharge nozzle, as illustrated in Fig. 4, is directing a wide thin outlet current directly down the center line of the tank 50. In the position 52 the circulator pump has been rotated at an angle A and through a longer discharge nozzle is directing a stream at an angle of approximately 45 to the center line 50. In the position 53 the circulator has been turned at an angle B and with another angular nozzle is directing a reverse current stream of an angle of about to the center line of the tank.

In the foregoing illustration I have described various adjustments of my circulator and nozzle to provide a wide variety of hydrotherapy treatments as will be appreciated by the structures described and which may be utilized. by various kinds of attachment nozzles, as Will now be described and explained.

Now referring to Fig. 3, I show a four-section hydrotherapy nozzle, wherein'the inlet section 58 is attached to the circulator outlet 30 by a pivotal clamp 59 hooked into an'ear 30 of the outlet member 30, as shown indotted outline in Fig. 1. Y-branches 60 and 5| extend from The branch 60 extends longitudinally a considerable distance to the point 60. scoping over the branch 60 is another member 66 which extends to the point 66', as shown. These members are held together by the slotted strap 61 riveted to the branch 60 by the rivet 68 and adjustably held by the knurled thumb screw 69. This long sectional nozzle is adjustably sup ported by the tube 39 and thumb screw 39' telescopically enclosing the rod 38 supported by the ear 3'! from the brace 35, as previously described for Fig. 1. It will be appreciated that by this support structure the long nozzle sections may be securely held in place even when the sections and 66 are longitudinally extended outward a much greater distance than that shown in Fig. 3. On the ends of the branches 6| and 65 I show a longitudinal adjustable nozzle member 64, which may be adjusted and held at any angle by means of the thumb screw 65 in the radial slot 65'. It will, therefore, be appreciated that in Fig. 3 I show a nozzle wherein two streams of water may be directed on the arm or leg of a patient or under any conditions where such hydrotherapy treatments are indicated. It will further be appreciated that the intensity of the streams may be fully controlled by the deflector 62 and thumb screw 63.

Now referring to Fig. 1, I show a vertically pivotal nozzle composed of members 54 and 55, the member being angularly adjustable by means of pivoting around the pivot 56 and held by a thumb screw 51. Thus, I have shown and described nozzle members which permit either horizontal or vertical angular adjustment.

In Fig. 4 I show a wide stream nozzle attachable to the outlet member 30 and wherein the intensity of the stream may be controlled by the deflector 1| through the knurled screw 12, as will be readily appreciated by consideration of the drawings. Similarly in Fig. 5, I show a member 13 having hose connections 14 and 15 to which may be attached flexible hoses for directing hydrotherapy streams in any desired direction.

I further desire to explain that I provide sizes -and proportions of my nozzle sections whereby the greatest interchangeability of the sections is permitted. In fact any of my sections may practically be interchanged with any of the other sections to provide the greatest possible flexibility. It will be appreciated that in a hydrotherapy apparatus and particularly nozzles normally immersed in liquid, no close fitting is required for even a five or ten per cent leak in the parts would effect no practical difference as I provide a pump of very large volume capacity which may be adjusted by the knurled adjustment screw I1 and the perforated adjustment member I6.

It will further be appreciated that in all the structure disclosed that the patient is protected from all moving parts and great care has been exercised to provide a circulator adjustable to fit practically all conditions. The circulator may be adjusted for shallow or deep tanks by the vertical telescoping members as described. It may be rotated at any angle by rotation on a vertical axis, the circulator pump capacity may be adjusted as explained and the volume of air injection may be varied to produce any desired vibratory effects by adjustment of the butterfly valve 36.

Having thu described my invention, I now claim:

1. In an adjustable hydrotherapy circulator adapted to be mounted from the rim of tanks having various depths and shapes, an adjustable Telel riwardly extending bracket adapted to be supported from the rim of the tank, a telescoping radially adjustable support tube within the tank carried by the bracket, a drive motor on the top of the tube, an impeller pump on the bottom of the tube, telescoping driving connections between the motor and the pump within the tube, an adjustable inlet guard mounted on the bottom of the pump, a radial pump outlet on the pump, a telescoping adjustable air inlet on top of the pump outlet in injection relation thereto extending to and supported from the top of the tube, and nozzle attachment means on the pump outlet, whereby the circulator pump may be mounted near the bottom of tanks having various depths and shapes, with the motor slightly above the tank, with the pump inlet and drive guarded, and variable water-air currents created and adj ustably directed radially.

2. A structure of claim 1, in which the adjustable rim bracket carries a roller in rolling engagement with the rim, whereby the circulator may be conveniently rolled around on the rim of the tank.

3. A structure as in claim 1, in which the pump outlet is broadened to a wide and thin section with the air inlet similarly broadened, whereby a thin stream of water and air is created.

4. In a therapeutic device, consisting of a pump adapted to be submerged in a hydrotherapy treatment tank, a wide thin discharged nozzle, a wide thin air inlet mounted on the discharge nozzle in injection relationship thereto, means to adjust the pump inlet, and means to adjust the air inlet whereby a wide thin stream of water of variable pressure with variable amounts of injected air may be created.

WILLIAM ROCKE. 

